TrustArc Blog

Tag: Mobile App

Earlier today, Disconnect launched the first mobile app to block malvertising –and confirmed that the app is available for iOS and Android after an initial ban by Google caused public outcry. Malvertising is a major cause of identity theft and is impossible for consumers to identify because malicious tracking and malware often looks like a normal advertisement or website. Many consumers also do not realize that just visiting a webpage containing malvertising, without even clicking anything, can put them at risk. “Disconnect Mobile offers unique threat protection at the network request level, so that users are protected across all their … Continue reading TRUSTe To Develop Guidelines For Whitelisting Sites On New Disconnect Mobile App→

This Friday, December 14th, TRUSTe is hosting a webinar on the Enforcement of Mobile App Privacy Law. TRUSTe experts Saira Nayak, Director of Policy, and Joanne Furtsch, Director of Product Policy, will share what it means to be compliant with the CalOPPA Act and whether your company is in danger. If your company has a mobile app, or a mobile website, it may be at risk of significant monetary penalties ($2,500 per app download) and negative media coverage. The law may still apply even if your company is not based in California, or if you only offer free apps.

On October 30th the California Attorney General’s office gave a 30 day notice before they were going to start actively enforcing the Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA). On December 6th, they announced their first lawsuit which charges Delta Airlines for neglecting to comply.
We can help you:

Learn about CalOPPA and what it means for your company

Learn best practices for developing and implementing a mobile privacy strategy

Last week the California Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit charging a major airline for failure to comply with the California Online Privacy Protection Act. In order to eliminate legal risk, protect your brand, and maintain trust with your customers, you should conduct a comprehensive review of all of your mobile properties.

In order to help companies accelerate their mobile privacy review, and ensure compliance with the law, we have launched the TRUSTed Mobile Apps Fast Track Certification Program. The program includes all of the benefits of our standard mobile apps privacy certification, plus a fast-track option which enables you become compliant in as short as one day. TRUSTed Mobile Apps includes: Comprehensive App Data Privacy Review, In-depth Findings Report and Compliance Action Plan, Certified Privacy Policy, TRUSTe Certified Privacy Seal, Mobile Optimized Hosted Privacy Policy Engine, Implementation Assistance, and Dispute Resolution Service. For more information on the program, see the Program Brief. Read more “Get On The Fast Track To Mobile App Compliance”→

On October 30th the California Attorney General’s office announced they were going to start actively enforcing a law requiring mobile apps to have and conspicuously post a privacy policy. Companies were given 30 days notice to comply with the law.

On December 6th they announced their first lawsuit – charging Delta Airlines for neglecting to comply with the California Online Privacy Protection Act. You can read the full announcement here.

If you have a mobile app, or a mobile website, your company is at risk of significant monetary penalties ($2,500 per app download) and / or negative media coverage. Even if your company is not based in California, or if you only offer free apps, the law still applies to your company.

There is very little doubt in anyone’s mind that the iPhone has revolutionized the mobile industry and has forced the hands of everyone – from handset manufacturers and carriers to application developers – to be more creative and innovative in order to stay in the game. Another advantage Apple has is that it requires its developers to follow its human interface guidelines. These guidelines help mobile apps conform to good design principles. These design principles are so popular that more and more mobile apps and mobile web developers are following these guidelines regardless of whether they are on the Apple store, which contributes to the continuing appeal of the mobile device.

Tasks performed on mobile devices tend to be tactical in nature. Your users have a very specific need and they want to accomplish their goal in the easiest and fastest way possible. Best user interface design principles include:

Compact screen size requires a minimal feature set optimized for common use cases

Fonts and font sizes are used to show hierarchy and importance

The ability to only see one screen at a time means features must be progressively displayed

Large buttons are used to make interactions actionable

The commonality of the mobile form factor means users expect adherence to mobile design conventions – interactions should be conventional and consistent

Limited content real estate means help text creates unnecessary clutter – the interface should be simple and intuitive so that the user needs little instruction

The Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C)’s Mobile Web Initiative has created mobile web best practices to help companies follow best practices for delivering web content to mobile devices. These guidelines are just a start. You need to do more if you want your mobile app and/or website to continue to attract engaged users.

What can a company do when a user is presented with dozens, if not hundreds of similar, competing mobile applications? How can a company help a mobile app user feel comfortable sharing their location information with the app? How can you help users trust mobile forms that require them to share information such as their name, password, email or physical address? How can you help users trust mobile platforms linked to their financial accounts?

A study by TNS Global Market Research of more than 1,000 users in December 2009 revealed that more than 75% of users look for the presence of a privacy policy when giving personal information on a website. By following good mobile privacy policy design principles, you help your users feel more comfortable sharing their information on your mobile website or application. Read more “Design considerations for your mobile application and website”→